The 1980s were weird. Honestly, there isn't a better word for a decade where people voluntarily carried around five-pound plastic boxes just to listen to a cassette tape or spent hours trying to align stickers on a plastic cube. It was a time of massive cultural shifts, driven by a booming economy and the birth of MTV. We weren't just buying products; we were buying into "vibes" before that word even existed.
If you lived through it, you remember the smell of Strawberry Shortcake dolls and the specific, bone-shaking rattle of a skateboard on a rough sidewalk. If you didn't, you’ve probably seen the stylized, neon-soaked version on Stranger Things. But the real 1980s fads weren't always that cinematic. Some were just plain bizarre.
The Neon Plastic Takeover
Everything was bright. If it wasn't neon pink, was it even legal? This obsession with "fluorescents" started in the early 80s and peaked around 1986. It wasn't just clothes. We had neon shoelaces, neon headbands, and those thin plastic "jelly" bracelets that you'd wear by the dozen until your circulation started to feel a bit questionable.
Jelly shoes were perhaps the pinnacle of fashion-meets-discomfort. They were made of PVC plastic. They were cheap, usually under five bucks, and they came in every color of the rainbow. But here’s the thing: they were a nightmare to actually wear. On a hot summer day, your feet would sweat, the plastic would get slippery, and you'd end up with blisters that stayed with you longer than the shoes did. Yet, everyone had them. It was a massive global phenomenon that saw companies like Grendha pumping out millions of pairs.
Then there were Swatch watches.
Owning one wasn't enough. The fad dictated that you needed at least three on one arm. Maybe you'd use a "Swatch Guard"—a little rubber strip that snapped over the face—to protect it from scratches, though it mostly just made it impossible to tell what time it actually was. This was the first time a watch became a disposable fashion accessory rather than a family heirloom. It changed how we looked at consumerism.
Why 1980s Fads Like the Rubik’s Cube Broke Our Brains
In 1980, an architecture professor from Hungary named Ernő Rubik exported his "Magic Cube" to the West. He didn't think it would be a hit. He was wrong. It became the best-selling toy in history almost overnight.
It’s hard to overstate how much the Rubik’s Cube dominated the collective consciousness. It wasn't just for kids. Businessmen in suits were seen frantically twisting the rows on subways. It spawned books on how to solve it that topped the New York Times bestseller lists. You Can Do the Cube by Patrick Bossert, a 12-year-old, sold over 1.5 million copies.
It was frustrating. It was tactile.
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People actually suffered from "Rubik's Thumb" and "Cubist’s Wrist," real medical terms used at the time to describe repetitive strain injuries from trying to solve the puzzle. It was a precursor to the way we get addicted to digital games today, but it was physical. You could feel the click of the plastic. You could feel the defeat when you realized you’d messed up the last layer.
The Cabbage Patch Riots
If you want to talk about the darker side of 1980s fads, you have to talk about 1983. That was the year of the Cabbage Patch Kids. These weren't "cute" in the traditional sense. They were sort of lumpy, with yarn hair and "Xavier Roberts" signed on their butts.
But people went feral for them.
Stores didn't have enough stock. When shipments arrived, literal riots broke out. People were punching each other in the aisles of Zayre and Toys "R" Us. It sounds like an exaggeration, but the footage is on YouTube. It was the first time we really saw the "must-have Christmas toy" frenzy reach a level of physical violence. It set the stage for Tickle Me Elmo and the PlayStation launches decades later. Each doll came with "adoption papers," which was a genius marketing move. It made the consumer feel like they were a "parent" rather than a customer. It was psychological warfare disguised as a plush toy.
Fitness, Leg Warmers, and the VHS Revolution
The 80s was the decade the "workout" became a lifestyle choice you wore on your sleeve. Or your legs.
Jane Fonda’s Workout VHS, released in 1982, changed everything. Suddenly, you didn't go to a gym; you pushed your coffee table out of the way and did leg lifts in your living room. This led to the explosion of aerobics gear as everyday wear. Leg warmers are the most iconic leftover of this era. They were designed for dancers to keep their muscles warm, but for some reason, we decided they looked great over jeans or with miniskirts.
It was a look. It wasn't a good look, but it was a look.
The High-Tech Toys That Weren't
We think of the 80s as high-tech because of Back to the Future, but the reality was a lot of low-fi gadgetry. Take the Teddy Ruxpin. It was a bear with a tape player in its back. His eyes and mouth moved while he told stories. At the time, it was revolutionary. To a kid in 1985, it was magic. To an adult looking back, it was a bit creepy.
And we can't forget the Sony Walkman. The TPS-L2 changed the world in 1979/1980. For the first time, music was private. You could walk through a crowded city and have your own personal soundtrack. It was the birth of the "personal bubble" that we all live in now with our smartphones. It was a fad that became a fundamental shift in human behavior.
The Parachute Pants and Power Suits
Fashion in the 80s was about taking up space.
Power suits for women had shoulder pads so large they looked like they belonged in the NFL. It was a visual representation of women entering the corporate workforce in record numbers. If you wanted to be taken seriously, you needed to look wider.
On the flip side, you had parachute pants. Made of synthetic nylon and covered in unnecessary zippers, they were popularized by breakdancers because the fabric didn't catch on the ground. Then, everyone else started wearing them. They made a distinct shhh-shhh sound when you walked. You couldn't sneak up on anyone in 1984. It was impossible.
The Cultural Impact of "The Fad"
Fads in the 1980s were different because they were monocultural. We all watched the same three or four TV channels. We all listened to the same radio stations. When something became "cool," it became cool for everyone at the same time. There was no "niche" internet culture.
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- The Pet Rock: Technically a 70s carryover that died in the early 80s, but it proved people would buy literally anything with the right packaging.
- Max Headroom: A "computer-generated" pitchman (actually an actor in prosthetic makeup) who represented our fear and fascination with the coming digital age.
- Garbage Pail Kids: The gross-out response to the sugary sweetness of Cabbage Patch Kids. They were banned in schools across the country, which, of course, made them even more popular.
How to Apply the 80s "Energy" Today
If you’re looking to capture some of that 80s nostalgia or understand why these things keep coming back, it’s about the tactile nature of the era. People are tired of screens. That’s why vinyl records are back. That’s why film photography is booming.
If you want to lean into this:
- Seek out analog experiences. Find a physical puzzle or a board game that doesn't require an app. There's a reason the Rubik's Cube is still selling millions of units.
- Embrace bold color. The minimalism of the 2010s ("millennial gray") is fading. Don't be afraid of a primary color palette in your home or wardrobe.
- Appreciate the "slow" tech. Use a dedicated camera or a standalone music player. The Walkman taught us that there is value in doing one thing at a time.
- Collect with intent. The 80s was the era of the "collection"—stamps, stickers, coins, dolls. Finding joy in a physical set of items is a great way to disconnect from the digital churn.
The 1980s fads weren't just about consumerism. They were about a world that was rapidly changing, trying to figure out how to use new technology while still holding onto something physical. We might laugh at the hairsprayed bangs and the neon spandex, but that decade defined the modern world. It was loud, it was messy, and it was undeniably fun.